In an informal meeting of Lynchburg-area college presidents and city government officials, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell mentioned interest in widening Wards Road to three lanes each way on the stretch of road from the River Ridge mall entrance and U.S. 460.

The meeting — which took place Sept. 21 at Heritage High School — was a part of a larger Town and Gown series of meetings established in an attempt to encourage talks with leaders of the local colleges and Lynchburg City officials.

Among those colleges represented by their respective presidents were Liberty, Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg College, Virginia University of Lynchburg and Randolph College. Mayor Joan Foster, Sterling Wilder and Mary Jane Dolan represented Lynchburg’s City Council at the meeting.

IMPROVEMENT — The pedestrian bridge over Wards Road is an example of how Lynchburg City partnered with Liberty University to build infrastructure. Photo credit: Michela Diddle

Falwell said in the meeting that a third lane in Wards Road could be built by paving the turn lanes on the stretch of road into regular lanes.

Previous to the meeting at Heritage, he engaged in talks with Lynchburg City Manager Bonnie Svrcek on the idea and noted Liberty would help pay for the project.

Although Svrcek said a third lane on Wards Road could be possible in the future, she noted that the project is not a priority of the Lynchburg Department of Transportation and that there are currently ongoing infrastructure projects that are supposed to alleviate the traffic congestion on Wards.

“The concept of a third lane on Wards road needs to be studied,” Svrcek said. “I know that when our transportation engineer worked at Liberty, there was a very rough conceptual sketch, but we haven’t done a feasibility of the concept. We haven’t done a corridor study, and it is not on the city’s priority list.”

The ongoing infrastructure projects meant to alleviate Wards Road traffic include the construction of the interchange bridge on Odd Fellows Road, U.S.

Route 460 off-ramp at Liberty Mountain Drive and extension of Liberty Mountain Drive. All three projects are expected to be completed near winter 2018.

Following the completion of the projects, Svrcek said the city will look at the results of the construction and determine from there whether further work is needed to alleviate the congestion on Wards.

There is so far no timeline as to when the third-lane extension of Wards would start.

“I think it will take us some time to figure out what the results are of those improvements on Wards Road, so I’m not going to tie a timeline to this at all,” Svrcek said. “There are a lot of moving parts in the city’s transportation infrastructure, and we take a look at what our priorities look like on a pretty regular basis.”

Both Falwell and Svrcek said the main concern is an over-congestion of Wards Road.

In 2015, the 1.64 mile-stretch of Wards Road from the south city line of Lynchburg to the Lynchburg Expressway received an average traffic flow of about 40,000 vehicles a day, according to a traffic count from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Another concern is the constant growth of student population at Lynchburg-area colleges.

Liberty added many new students to its student body this year resulting in an enrollment of 15,146 — a new record.

After years of rising enrollment, Falwell said at the Heritage High meeting Liberty will likely hold its residential enrollment numbers steady due to the student body becoming too large for what Liberty’s campus and the surrounding Lynchburg area can accommodate.

Although a third lane on Wards Road is unlikely to be built in the near future, Svrcek said it is a necessity that Lynchburg City partners with Liberty on future projects to build sustainable infrastructure.

She brought up the pedestrian bridge over Wards as a past example of how Liberty and Lynchburg City have been able to partner to improve both city and campus life.

“For our collective success, it is necessary that the city partners with external entities,” Svrcek said.

“Whether it’s Liberty or a business or an entire industry, I know that in the end that working together is going to make (Lynchburg) an even more dynamic and successful city.”

Vision — President Jerry Falwell reflected on all of the changes and special moments that have taken place during his seven years as president. Photo credit: Ty Hester

“Okay, Tré, you can come on back now,” his secretary said. For a moment, I felt as if I was back in the eighth grade.

I walked through the door and rounded the corner.

“Hi, Tré,” President Jerry Falwell said. All of a sudden, memories of my days in grade school left my mind and I felt as if I was seeing an old friend again. We sat at the end of a long conference table in his office, surrounded by maps and campus mockups, a tangible example of Falwell’s passion for campus updates.

I never felt as if I was interviewing an executive, separated by rank. Describing his summer pastimes, our conversation proved to be both down-to-earth and engaging. As he began to describe his newfound hobbies, wakeboarding and wake-surfing, I quickly realized that behind the title “president” is a man to whom we can all probably relate.

“(My kids) taught me how to wakeboard this year,” Falwell said. “So, at 52 … I mean, I’ve water-skied my whole life … (but) I’m learning how to wakeboard, wake-surf. I’m learning some new tricks in my old age.”

Watersports and all, the Falwells spend much of their time on their family farm in Bedford County, Virginia. With a lake on the property, the home serves as the perfect place for wakeboarding and water-skiing.

Falwell said the farm serves as both a house and a vacation home. From summer to winter, the family keeps busy.

“Every Christmas on the farm, we shoot mistletoe out of the trees,” Falwell said. “The last few years, I’ve been bringing it to Convo and making an exception to the kissing rule for that one day. When we hand it out at Christmas, it disappears in a few minutes, even if we bring a big bag. But the only easy way to get it out of the tree is to shoot it down with a shotgun.”

Through the years, many different traditions have defined what it is like to grow up as a Falwell. When his kids were younger, they would often venture out on motor home camping trips.

“We had some neighbors that also had motor homes,” Falwell said, leaning back in his chair, legs propped up on the seat next to him. “One summer, we all went out West for three weeks, drove 5,000 miles and saw a lot of the national parks.”

With busy schedules and a big farm, the Falwells do not travel quite as much these days, but they do enjoy spending their down time in the area. Some of their favorite weekend getaways include taking a hike up Peaks of Otter or enjoying dinner at Jimmy’s on the James, the Millstone Tea Room or Main Street Eatery.

Spending more time at home was not always something that came naturally to Falwell. For years, Liberty was fighting financial struggles and in need of
constant attention.

“I was so busy for so many years,” Falwell said of lessons he has learned. “I was probably spending more time than I should have working. In the last two or three years, I’ve tried to change that. … I finally learned just to turn the computer off when I take off work. I’ve found a whole lot better balance in recent years.”

Falwell and his wife, Becki, have been married for 27 years. As he shared stories of his time dating Becki, I wondered what lessons he may have learned after nearly 30 years of marriage.

Falwell spoke very highly of Becki, telling me “she sees things that I would never see or notice, and I see things she would never see or notice.” He said their differences have complemented each other in their marriage.

“I can’t imagine how two people just alike could enjoy being married,” Falwell said. “It would just be boring, I think.”

Liberty’s growth in recent years has given Falwell the opportunity to exercise his eye for architecture. Falwell shared that he is most looking forward to the construction of Liberty’s Landmark Tower and the new student center behind DeMoss Hall, describing campus construction planning as “almost like playing ‘SimCity.’”

“All those years, I remember walking around campus and saying, ‘It would be nice if we had a different type of building here,’” Falwell said about his time as a student at Liberty. “To see those changes actually taking place is something I’ve dreamed about for years.”

In this season of dreams becoming realities for Falwell, Liberty is gaining traction, becoming a model campus for other religious institutions around the nation.

“I was talking to the president of another large Catholic university and they were saying that they have watched Liberty’s growth and they want their university to become for Catholics what Liberty is for evangelicals,” Falwell said. “We always said the same thing about Notre Dame, and I thought it was funny that another school was using us as what they want to become.”

Passionate about creating and sustaining a world-class university, Falwell has dedicated his efforts to advancing Liberty’s role in
Christian education.

“That’s what I wake up every morning trying to do — to move Liberty toward that ultimate vision and dream. I’m just humbled to be part of it actually taking place now.”

Just 48 hours before the 2012 Commencement, President Jerry Falwell, Jr. experienced symptoms of what he later found out to be a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) — a miniature stroke.

“There was numbness in my hand, my face started to droop, and Becki noticed that I was drooling,” Falwell said. “I told her I didn’t have any feeling in my hand, and I could barely speak. It only lasted a couple of minutes, but it was very strange.”

Falwell was then rushed to the hospital where he stayed overnight as doctors ran tests to determine what was happening.

What he originally thought was a symptom of his occasional migraines turned out to be TIA.

“I initially didn’t tell my family, and the interview with WSET on Nov. 7 was the first time that I talked about it publicly,” Falwell said. “Lots of people my age contacted me after seeing the WSET interview and told me their similar stories, but most of them have had the bigger stroke that usually follows the ministroke.”

Before and After – Falwell lost 75 pounds

Falwell said he was “blessed by God” that he was able to catch the symptoms in time and turn his habits around into a healthier lifestyle before they became deadly.

“The doctors said that if I could keep my blood pressure low for six to eight months and leave it there, the blood vessels that were damaged would grow back,” Falwell said.

Although Falwell’s stroke did not originally initiate the weight loss, not having to worry about any surprise health problems is definitely a benefit to losing the weight, Falwell said.

“I had been on blood pressure medication for 15 years, and the doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medicine as well, but I declined that,” Falwell said. “Instead, I started changing my eating habits, and I progressively lost the weight.”

Falwell, who is now medication-free, turned 50 last year, and at that point, he said he began to care more about his weight and personal health.

The first month of his new weight loss plan, Falwell cut out sweet tea, soft drinks and any other kind of sweet drinks, he said. The second month, he cut out burgers, and during the third month, he started eating fruit to go along with his chicken sandwich. Over a span of 18 months, Falwell dropped from 240 to 165 pounds, total of 75 pounds in weight loss.

“I was able to cut out everything, but I did it slowly,” Falwell said. “You can’t cut it out all at once or it’ll be a shock, and you won’t stick with it. Once I cut it out, I never missed any of it.”

Now, Falwell said he only drinks black coffee, water and homemade protein shakes that he prepares himself. The protein shake, thanks to the recommendation of Ben Crosswhite of Crosswhite Fitness, is made with spinach, almond butter, almond milk, kale, raw egg, protein powder, olive oil, chia seeds, oat bran and fresh fruit.

Before and after – Bullman lost 180 pounds

“I work out two hours a week at Crosswhite Fitness with Becki, and because I kept up with Crosswhite, I was able to lose all that weight, and I’m able to keep it off easily,” Falwell said.

When the family eats at home, Falwell said their dinner plates are normally filled with grilled chicken or fish and vegetables.

Since his healthy change, Falwell said he has run a 5K in 30 minutes and hiked Sharp Top with ease.

In fact, other Liberty administration members have followed in Falwell’s footsteps. Liberty’s Chief Financial Officer Don Moon has lost 50 pounds, while Liberty’s Director of Ministry Teams Scott Bullman has shed 180 pounds, according to a WSET broadcast from Nov. 7.

For Bullman, the inspiration to lose the weight and get himself on a healthy track was spiritual.

“I’ve been morbidly obese for most of my life and have lost a lot of weight during that time,” Bullman said. “Feeling better, looking better, being around for my kids is always a good motivation, and this time around is no exception.”

However, according to Bullman, he believes God had been dealing with him regarding his influence.

“With leadership comes influence, and with influence comes the responsibility to (use) that influence for the glory of God,” Bullman said. “I finally realized that my influence would never be all it could be until I conquered this weakness, which was on display for everyone to see. Therefore, I gave it to God, hired trainer Ben Crosswhite, and committed 100 percent. Fifteen months later, I’m down 182 pounds.”

To date, the staff from Liberty has lost a combined 1,500 pounds—and that number continues to increase as each member continues on their path to health, according to Falwell.